Daily Dose of BS June 19th Hayden

I rode my motorcycle to work on Father’s day 1995 I remember that day because a bird used me as target practice, a direct facial hit.  That Father’s Day was the last time I didn’t celebrate Father’s Day as a Dad.   Ya see my oldest son Hayden was born two days later, a month before his due date.  This weekend we will both be celebrating, me as a father, Hayden will be celebrating his golden birthday, 20 on the 20^th.  It is amazing to see the growth of your kids, I am so proud of the man he has become, from his getting up to be at work by 6 every morning, to his sales internship to going to school full-time and maintaining good grades.  These first 20 years have been amazing, I wonder what the next 20 years will bring?  Hayden, happy golden birthday, I love you.  And for the Dads out there, enjoy your weekend, and have a great Father’s Day.  

Daily Dose of BS June 18 crime

I woke up this morning listening to the news about a hate crime with 9 dead in South Carolina, we hear about crime almost every time we turn on the radio, the tv or open the newspaper.  I hosted the La Crosse Areas Crimestoppers public forum last night and was pleasantly surprised to hear that the 9 groups represented on the panel all work well together.  I was happy to hear that there is plenty of collaboration between many of the communities and their local police departments.  I heard that many of the police departments are pushing their police officers to get out and meet the people of their communities, to work with the different neighborhood organizations.  I was also happy to hear about ongoing training in the different departments.  Onalaska Chief Trotnic said the city has the broken window approach, that if a broken window remains broken, there soon are many broken windows and pretty soon something nice is no longer nice, but if the window gets replaced quickly,  it doesn’t have a negative impact.   We all need to work together to make our communities stronger. 

Daily Dose of BS June 17 focus

DO you have problems with keeping your focus later in the day?  I sometimes do, ok most the time I do.  I read an article that say we gotta quit multi-tasking, we need to focus on doing one thing and doing it well, we have trained ourselves to be unfocused by allowing ourselves to be distracted.  One of the other things that the article said was to write down a list of things that you hope to accomplish the next day and also a list of what you accomplished today.   And finally it suggested that you treat yourself, I think that we all too often do this, how else would you explain all the unused gotta have it things around your house that you used as your own personal rewards. 

Daily Dose of BS June 16 vivofit

Walking, moving, hoping.  Yesterday I decided to get at wearable.  I did a bit of research and decided to go with the Garmin rather than the Fitbit, the reason is because I am a time watcher, I got to be certain places at certain times, and my show needs to be on time.  I went with the vivofit 2, it does the time, the date, tracks my steps, my sleep, and how many calories that I burn a day.  I was shocked by the time I got into work this morning that I had already walked 770 steps.  I am interested in seeing how many I do in a day and the weekly.  If not more than accountability for me I hope it pushes me to try to better myself.  Have you had success with using one of these devices, what have you done to make yourself more successful in the wearing or yours, or did I just waste a bunch of money? 

Daily Dose of BS June 12 tipping

More than one person in my life has called me frugal.  I like to hang on to my money and there is nothing wrong with that.  I do however tip well (at least 20% for a meal, not as much for just beers), I get embarrassed when I go out with someone and I offer to pick up the check and they offer to leave the tip and they don’t tip well, leaving only 10% or so.  I guess if you are getting good service and service with a smile, drinks topped off, and the little glimpse into the life of the person serving you, its has got to be worth something, right.  I have been out with people that pull the tip card out of their wallet to figure out the tip.  How hard is it to figure out a tip?  Move the decimal point over to the left one, if you have a $27.45 bill and you want to leave a 10% tip it is $2.75, a 20% tip is $5.50, the ten percent tip doubled, and for a 15% tip split the difference.  Not rocket science and for those that serve, it’s rent, it’s  a car payment, it’s groceries, etc.  Be a tipper and be a hero to someone.  

Daily Dose of BS June 11 attire

When my Mom went to school she had a dress code, there are still many kids that do have them, mostly at private schools.  Not a bad idea for school aged kids.  I really dislike the rude clothes that kids now days wear, the ones with cocky sayings, the I’m better than you type clothes, or the ones that draw attention to different underage body parts.  I worked at a radio job in Nebraska that had a dress code, we had to wear a tie when we were at work, I was the overnight guy there and I still had to wear a tie, it made no sense to me, but I liked getting paid so I did what I was told.  Mayo-Franciscan is dropping their required female hosiery requirement, which I think is about time, I really am not a fan of adults being told what to wear.  You are an adult and you should know the proper attire for the situation, right? 

Daily Dose of BS June 10 sleep

Are you average?  Me?  I am above average; the average guy is 34.4-years-old, 5’10, 175 pounds.  I am going to be 47 in about a month and a half and am 6’2 and about double the weight.  The average American get 6.8 hours a sleep a night,  I get somewhere between  5 and 7 depending on the night, last night I got about 4 and a half.  They say about 7 hours is recommended, but for me to get seven hours of sleep I would have to go to be at 9 every night, and that is not even possible.  The weird thing is that I love sleep and if I could sleep longer I would, but my body is used to breaking up my sleep by taking a refreshing 20 minute nap about 2 every afternoon.  How much sleep do you get, and do you think it is enough? 

Daily Dose of BS June 5 Zoo

There is a local group trying to bring back the Myrick Park Zoo.  I had the chance to talk with a couple of the people behind the Facebook page “Bring back the old Myrick Park”.  One of the first things they did was start a gofundme.com page with a goal of 50 thousand dollars, so far they only have raised 770$,  Kind of disappointing that that is all that has been raised.  There are over 6400 members on their Facebook and that number is growing every day.  I have heard from a few unnamed sources that the Zoo will be brought back, I have heard from others that there is no way that the Zoo would ever be brought back because the cost would be too great at a cost of over a million dollars per year.  If you recall 2006 and the grand plans for a new zoo to bring in Wisconsin based animals and find new homes for the existing animals, the monkeys, prairie dogs, bear, and caged deer all got new homes, in fact  I think the monkeys got jobs in the government but I am not sure.  What do you think they should do?

Daily Dose of BS June 4 outside couches

Having an indoor couch outside could soon be illegal in La Crosse.   All I can say is about time.  How many times have you driven down a street in La Crosse, or anywhere you have driven and seen a shotty plush couch sitting on the front porch of someone’s house and thought to yourself, gross, that needs to be thrown away?  The La Crosse Common Council is considering an ordinance that would bring upholstered furniture back inside.  I think that this is another of steps in cleaning up our neighborhoods; I think we overcame a huge hurdle in neighborhood cleanup when we got the new garbage cans last year.  Now if we can just get people to clean up behind their garages, pick up their yards, weed eat, and do some edging.  I think we are on the right track. 

Daily Dose of BS June 3 NSA

The National Security Agency lost its authority to collect our phone records because Congress passed a bill yesterday saying that they can’t, instead putting it on the phone companies.  Wait a minute, the phone companies are now going to be in charge of the data on my phone?  There are days when I lose text and emails, how can the nation’s phone collecting security be put on the phone companies?  What I find weird is that you can’t scratch yourself without someone knowing. There are cameras here and there and there and there and they seem like just about everywhere. There are people stealing our wifi and cloning our phones, there are people watching every move we make, yet if we are law abiding citizens we are worried about the government tracking our phone calls.  To me that is the least of our worries, they know more about us than we know about ourselves.  I guarantee it.  Shutting down the NSA collecting our info will just make them sneakier in collecting our data.  I figure every move we make is being monitored by someone, don’t do bad things and you won’t have to worry.

Daily Dose of BS June 2 TSA

WOW!  I feel safe, the TSA failed miserably in an undercover test of their processes.  Reports this morning say that inspectors were able to sneak fake explosives and banned weapons through different checkpoints exposing a system-wide security failure at America's airports.  This does not make me feel safe, and if the terrorists are watching, and I am sure that they are, here is a huge flaw.  We already have to take off our shoes, have our bodies radiated and x-rayed, what is next a strip search for all?  According to the report I heard this morning, that the TSA screeners failed 67 out of 70 tests or about 95% of the tests carried out by special Department of Homeland Security.  The one case that really has me scratching my head is the an undercover agent with a fake bomb strapped to his back set off the machines but the TSA screener still failed to find it.  Have they just given up?  

Daily Dose of BS June 1 tattoos

If you are on social media you’ve seen the regrettable tattoos that are out there, heck if you have been out in the world any time in the past decade you have most likely seen some regret.  They say that 21% of all adults have a tattoo.   I grew up with a Dad who had tattoos, he has four, two on each bicep, these were tattoos he got when he was a kid.  As a child I always wanted one, and looked into getting one when I turned 18 I didn’t get one, then, fast forward 22 years and I ended up getting my kids initials when I was 40.  When I got it, the tattoo artist said that my skin took the ink well, it made me think that some peoples skin doesn’t take ink well?  Weird.  I didn’t really think about it until I had to write a speech on a social issue and I picked tattoos and allergic reactions, I am shocked on the amount of skin reactions that are out there from allergies to the ink, to infections because of bad needles to burns and more.  Is the risk worth the payoff?  Maybe not but there is some cool body art out there.  

Daily Dose of BS May 29 baseball

New changes at the ball park, last night marked the home opener for the La Crosse Loggers and you could not have asked for a better night of baseball.  Many changes were noticed at the ball park like the addition of a couple of new seating areas, the moving of the kids area, the porta pottys got moved and a few other things upgraded.  What didn’t change was the game and the value to go to the game, I have missed watching our La Crosse Loggers and after cheering them to victory last night I am now ready for summer.  My kids have been practicing for their ball teams already and this weekend marks the first of many weekend tournaments of both baseball and softball.  If you are heading out to any games, Loggers, Brewers, or little league, remember the sun screen, the bug spray, a baseball hat, and don’t forget your manners. 

Daily Dose of BS May 28 parklets

Have you seen any of the parklets?  I parked across from one the other day, walked over and took a look at it, shook my head wondered to myself why, and then went on my merry way.  I guess I don’t get the thought behind the parklet parks taking up street space, maybe it is that we have plenty of green space in the La Crosse area, maybe that we only have so many parking spots that line the streets, maybe it is that I just don’t like them.  I don’t know.  I think the main reason I do not care for the parklets is that I just don’t get them.  I am also concerned about the two possibly three spots that the one spot park is taking up, hear me out, people don’t know how to parallel park either that or they are afraid to do it, so with that they pull in to a spot and when they do they leave plenty of room for the car in front of them or behind them taking up a space and a half, multiply that by the length of the street and sure enough two to three spots are taken up.  Parklets are they a good idea, personally I don’t think so. 

Daily Dose of BS May 27 4 days

Why do the short work weeks always seem to last longer to you than the regular five day work week?  I have long pondered this phenomenon, and have come to the conclusion that we are used to working 5 days a week and divide our days accordingly, when we only have four days to get our five days’ worth of stuff it takes a toll on us, this is why in my mind these short weeks equal a longer feel.  Why do you think it is?

Daily Dose of BS May 26 stay in school

I have a brother-in-law that retired as a teacher and years ago we had conversation about kids staying in school.   I was of the belief that kids should have to stay in school while here a teacher said that kids should be allowed to drop out.  I was dumbfounded I didn’t understand, here someone whose job it is to mold and shape minds said that if you want to drop, drop.  It made no sense to me, until he explained it to me, then the light came on and now I agree.  He explained to me if you don’t want to be somewhere let’s say a classroom and everyone else wants to be there, what are you doing?  You are being disruptive and causing other around you to not learn, right?  So this is how my brother-in-law changed my way of thinking when it comes to staying in school.  With that being said, Wisconsin graduation rates are rising and local rates are high than the statewide average, Holmen and Onalaska have rates close to 97% and LaCrosse graduation rates are about 91%.  Personally I don’t think if hurts to never stop learning. 

Daily Dose of BS May 22 Memorial Day

This extended weekend please take some time to reflect on those men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice by giving their lives for us to be free.  Thank you to the families of these brave men and women who selflessly marched on to battle for the rest of us Americans.  Memorial Day is also known as unofficial start to summer, and all the activities that go with summer.   I for one will be looking forward to time with my family and friends enjoying all that our beautiful area has to offer this summer.  Every day I drive by the Mississippi River and enjoy looking out across the water and I also have the bluffs to enjoy each day.  You know something I have lived in La Crosse for 23 years now and still enjoy the views.  Enjoy what you have and remember the meaning of Memorial Day.

Daily Dose of BS May 21 speed

We will be spending less time on the highways.  In fact we will be spending less time on about 726 miles of highways in the state of Wisconsin.  The Wisconsin State Department of Transportation is going to begin putting up signs and once they are placed, the speed limit is as posted.  We will now match our neighboring states with speed, I feel we should have gone for the gold and went for 80, but as the Movie What about Bob taught us, baby steps.  I think in no time we will be driving that fast anyway as we always feel the need to push the envelope and since we raised the speed limit to 70 you know that it will mean 75-80.  We have the technology for safety right?

Daily Dose of BS May 20 air bags

The Takata company from Japan that makes air bags is recalling over 35 million air bags, air bags from every car company out there.  The reason is because six people have died and about a hundred have gotten hurt worldwide.  These people got hurt because of the force in which the air bag deploys.  I wonder if doing this will put that business out of business.  I wonder how many lives that those airbags saved?  Will this massive recall make other businesses not try to bring safety to the market over fears of being sued?  I understand that we want safe cars but at what cost?  Is it cold and insensitive of me to wonder about this?  Do you think that the government is doing the right thing with this recall?  I don’t think that they are.  

Daily Dose of BS May 19 dumb things

Some stupid things that lots of us do; don’t save enough, foolishly spend on things we don’t need, don’t spend enough time with our families, don’t prioritize our lives, don’t give enough time for ourselves and our mental wellbeing.  There are hundreds of things that we do on a regular basis that most just roll their eyes at or think what a dumbass.  One of the trends that I have been noticing more and more is the idiots who text and drive, and I am not talking about the quick glance down at the phone while at a stop light, but the person who is obviously carrying on a conversation via text with someone while driving.  If you want to be a dummy don’t do it while I’m on the road or anyone else.  Here is an idea, have everyone who gets busted texting and driving do it on a race track going 55 miles per hour and see if they can do it without crashing.